Phoenix in the Night
by Shade the Hero Project-X
Summary: A major battle erupts in St. Canard resulting in the loss of its greatest villain and its greatest hero. Now, Twenty years later everyone tries to lead a normal life. All except for one Gosalyn Mallard. She is desperate to find her father, but what she uncovers is something much more dangerous. a Dark force is at work here and the only way to defeat it lies in the hands of a child.
1. Chapter One: The Field Trip

Phoenix in the Night

by: Syiren

Prelogue

The region of Adubon bay hadn't changed much over the years. The famous bridge still stood strong and tall like a silent guardain watching over the connecting city of St. Canard. It had been well known for it's high crime rate and super-powered villains. However, that had changed in recent years. It had been over twenty years and in that time the streets had cleaned up quite a bit. Every once in a while one of the supervillains would rear their ugly heads to show they were still alive and kicking but, they'd always get defeated by one of the city's heroes. But, it had been some time since any of the villains tried causing trouble.

Despite the city growing in population and more places opening for business and ripe for the villains to prey upon many of the top class villains seemed to have lost all interest. A reporter had caught up with known super criminal and powerhouse Megavolt and asked him why he had seemed to throw in the towel. Aside from the random electric sparks from his annoyed demeaner the villain admitted that it just wasn't as much fun without the medaling duck.

Fifteen years ago an epic battle had taken place that nearly changed the city forever. Negaduck had managed to get ahold of a top secret device that had the power to warp dementions and he had planned to fuse this demention with that of the Negaverse. His plan nearly succeeded until Darkwing Duck stepped in. Things didn't look good as Negaduck always seemed to be one step ahead of the masked hero but, whether it was intentional or by pure accident Darkwing had managed to reverse the device which resulted in an emplosion. Unfortunately, the hero along with Negaduck had been pulled into the vortex and vanished. Whether they were destroyed or thrown into another reality was anyone's guess.

Chapter: One

"Yay! Fieldtrip day!"

"Who cares? It's just a stupid museum."

"You're just mad cause we're not going to the pool."

"I am not! I just didn't want school to start so soon!"

The school bus was packed with energetic fifth graders on their way to the St. Canard Museum of Natural History. Summer Vacation had just ended and the students were as rowdy as ever. "Please settle down back there, we'll be at the museum shortly." Declared the teacher who was sitting in the front of the bus. "Yes Mr. M." the class replied.

"Mr. Pushover." The student mumbled. The young duckling sitting next to the little rooster who made the comment punched him in the shoulder. "Hey, that's not kool. Mr. M. is nice. He's a lot nicer then the other teachers in the school. We should be happy we got assigned to his class instead of Mr. Grizzlykoff's." The rooster rubbed his shoulder. "Yeah, you got a point. That old bear is like the king of grumps. You'd expect a new teacher to be cheerful but, he acts like an old king who got kicked off his thrown."

As the bus pulled into the museum parking lot Mr. M stood up and faced his students. "Now remember class. This is the first trip of the school year and your behavior will determine if we can continue to go on anymore trips. You represent your school and if you don't follow the directions given to you then we wont go on anymore trips. This includes you Brewster." Mr. M said glaring firmly at the young rooster that was sitting near the back. "Now, I'll call you up in pairs. Once called you are to line up outside the bus and wait for me. You'll be sticking with your partner for the entire time we're here and then you'll both write an essay on what you've learned. This assignment counts as two test grades. One for the essay and the other for your behaviour here. I've decided to add this grade as a freebie. It could help you or hurt you depending on your actions. Remember that."

Brewster slumped back into his seat. "Great, I knew this trip would suck." The duckling that lectured him earlier giggled. "Oh c'mon, it wont be that bad. The museum is full of neat stuff." Brewster looked up at her with a pouty face. "Prove it." Mr. M continued calling out names. "Brewster Beak and Jessica Tomas." She smiled as she grabbed his hand. "Ok, I will." Brewster nearly fell into the isle as she lead him off the bus. "Jess! take a chill pill will ya?"

Once all the students had been paired up Mr. M looked at the driver. "Come pick us up around two." With that he stepped off the bus. "Alright class, remember to stay together, I don't want any students wandering off and pay attention to what you learn. you never know, it could be fun." With that he entered trough the sliding glass doors with his class following behind him.

Despite it's simple look on the outside the museum was huge on the inside. Some students gazed in awe at what they saw. The first thing that greeted them was a massive Skeleton of a T-rex. The kids ran up to it, some tried reaching to touch the end of it's tail. Mr. M smiled. No matter how much times had changed every kid was still fasinated with dinosaurs. Something caught Brewster's eye that no one else seemed to notice. "Hey look, here's a dinosaur with all it's scales!" He ran over to it. It was odd that this one didn't have any dumb carpet ropes seperating it from the crowd. Brewster grabbed one of it's tail spikes. "Kool! It feels so real! Jess you gotta check it out!" The duckling from before tried to keep up with him. "Brewster! Mr. M said to stay with the group! You're not allowed to touch the museum peices, we're gonna get in trouble!"

"No, it's okay. I don't mind." Jessica stopped as both she and Brewster looked up at the statue and it was smiling right back at them. Both kids screamed. Mr. M came rushing up to them. "What's going on?! Are you kids alri-...Stegmutt?" The teacher adjusted his glasses just to make sure. "Yep. That's me." Brewster looked back and forth between the two. "Wait, you know that thing?" Mr. M. glared down at the young rooster. "Show some respect! This is one of the Justice Ducks!"

"But, he's not a duck." Jessica pointed out. "I used to be." Replied the dinosaur. "I've been a stegasaurus for a long time now but, I forget how long it's been." Mr. M. smiled. "It's been almost twenty years since we first met and you were a dinosaur then to."

Stegmutt looked at the other kids that were starting to come over and see what was going on. "Are these your kids?" He asked. Mr. M motioned for the rest of the class to stay put. "I'm a teacher. My class is here on a fieldtrip to learn about what's on display here." Stegmutt smiled. "Oh neato! Then I'm one of your tour guides! C'mon, lemme show you guys around. This place is a lot of fun!" As the dinosaur led the way the other students fell in line behind their teacher. Jessica was quickly bored with the tour but, Brewster wanted to find out more about the Dinosaur and how he got turned into one. Once Stegmutt led them into an area where they could freely roam around and check out some of the interactive displays he and Mr. M. started to converse.

"Who knew you'd end up working for the same museum you were transformed in." Mr. M. began. Stegmutt shrugged. "It's okay, I don't mind. It was only Dr. Fossil that was bad but, this is the only place people don't run away or think I'm a bad guy. I was going to the store the other day and a few teens called me a freak." Mr. M. patted the dinosaur's back. "I know the feeling. High school was a nightmare for me." He then looked up at the dinosaur and hoped he might know something. "Hey, about what happened fifteen years ago, the last time the Justice Ducks fought together, you wouldn't happen to know what happened to them by any chance? I mean is there a way to find him?" Stegmutt's smile vanished. "No. All of us looked. Gizmoduck searched the whole city and Neptunia searched the entire bay. There wasn't a single trace of either of them left. Morgana took it real hard." Mr. M. slowly nodded. "Gosalyn took it pretty hard as well."

Stegmutt looked down. "How is she?" Mr. M. smiled thinking about her. "She's on another mission for SHUSH. Somewhere in the Amazon last I talked to her." The dinosaur looked over at the kids as they moved about the room. "I still can't believe she's a secret agent." Mr. M nodded. "I beleive she took that job in hopes of finding her dad. The device did come from them so, she figured they might be her best chance of finding any leads."

The dinosaur looked at a mirrior that was refelcting the light spectrum. "It's still hard to believe we've grown up. It may be because dinosaurs live a long time but, I don't feel much older then from when I first met you and Gos. Even though I'm much smarter now." Stegmutt laughed. "I remember how scared you were when I was trying to chase you two down. It made me smile when you guys didn't make fun of me after you found out I was a real dinosaur." The mallard chuckled. "I remember. I used to be so timid. I guess I still am but, thanks to Gosalyn I toughened up enough to survive high school."

Some of the students approached the two. "Whats next? We're getting bored looking at the same stuff." Mr. M looked at his watch. "Five more minutes then we'll move on." As the kids walked back over to the displays Stegmutt scratched his head. "Why do they call you Mr. M? Why not your full name?" The mallard lightly chuckled. "Because Muddlefoot is too easy for the kids to make fun of. It was bad enough in middle school."

"You didn't like school very much." Stegmutt replied. Honker smirked. "I think I only survived it because of Gosalyn." Stegmutt looked at Honker's hands and noticed he wasn't wearing a ring. "So, are you two together?" The mallard nodded. "We are but, she doesn't want to get married until she finds her dad and I'm fine with that. We live together in the same house she grew up in that way we'll be there if he comes back."

Stegmutt sensed that their conversation was starting to turn down a sad road so he stood up. "Well, Don't worry. I bet he's just waiting until the perfect moment to make a grand entrance. That's what he's best known for right?" Honker stood up and called the class over. "You're right. We can't just give up cause he'd never give up on us." Once the tour had gotten back under way the students were shown the rest of the exhibits and Stegmutt led them to the cafeteria where he treated them to lunch. Before long it was time to leave and Mr. M. was calling the last students to board the bus. Stegmutt was waving to some of the students as they said how kool he was. He then called to Honker. "Tell Gosalyn I said hi when you get the chance." Honker waved goodbye. "I will. Later Stegmutt." With that the bus headed back to the school.


	2. Chapter Two: Family Problems

_I realize these past two chapters have been short. They may be extended later on. I realize I left this out of the last post. _

_I do not own the show Darkwing Duck or any of its characters. The only characters I own are my own OC's. I make no profit from this fiction. _

**Chapter: Two**

After school was let out Brewster walked the usual long way home. It wasn't because he enjoyed the scenery, he just dreaded going home. It was always the same thing everyday. His mother would give him the scrub down and his dad would be the same cranky, selfish jerk that would always get onto him for the dumbest reasons. Brewster had no one to look up to all his life. It was hard to have a hero considering who his parents were.

As he stopped by the mail box he checked the mail. As usual his mother probably got too busy cleaning and his dad was busy with his own personal business. With a heavy sigh Brewster opened the door. "I'm home." He called. "Shoes off, backpack down!" The young rooster followed the orders as they were normal routine as his mother came down the stairs with the vacuum in hand. "Hello to you to mom."

She glared at him while turning on the vacuum and started sucking whatever speck of dirt he had on him. "Lose the attitude before I wash your mouth out with soap." Amonia Pine; one of FOWL's top evil agents had retired from her evil ways in attempt to clean up her act. She had been doing pretty well, the only thing she couldn't control was her insane urge to clean every dirty surface in sight.

Once she was done and had him turn around a few times for good measure she gave her son the all clear and smiled at him sweetly. "So, what you learn in school today?" She asked in a sweet voice. Brewster opened his backpack and pulled out the notes that Jessica had helped him write down. "We went to the museum today and a real life dinosaur was our tour guide." Amonia grinned and rubbed his head feathers. "Aw, I'm sure that was just someone in a costume but, I'm sure it makes a lot of kids happy." She headed upstairs to put away the vacuum. "Why don't you wash up Brewster, dinner will be ready soon."

The young rooster went upstairs setting his backpack on the bed and headed into the kitchen to wash his hands. "Ahhhhh!" Someone began stomping around upstairs and then proceeded to stomp down the staircase. Brewster turned as his father came into the kitchen. Steelbeak, another one of FOWL's top agent's was panting with rage as he glared at his son. "What 'ave I told ya'z about runnin' da water while I'm in da showa!" Brewster balled his fists. "I didn't know you were taking one! It's not my fault I always have to wash up before dinner!" Steelbeak slammed his fist on the counter. "Don't talk back ta me like that!" Brewster headed upstairs. "Get back 'ere! I'm not done with youse yet!" Steelbeak called up to him. "Well I'm done with you! I wish I had a hero for a dad instead of a villain! Then I'd have someone to look up to for a change!" With that Brewster slammed the door to his room and locked it, choosing to miss out on dinner.

Thousands of miles away deep in the Amazon jungle secret agent Mallard was trying to tap into the SHUSH data base. The twenty-nine year old had just gotten some good intel on her target and was sending it back to SHUSH Central for J. Gander Hooter to review and give her further orders. He hadn't replied to her e-mail yet so, she decided to hack into the system and look at some of the top-secret files. It had taken her a long time to climb the ladder and earn the level of trust she had but, it wasn't enough to get her the file she wanted. Not until tonight. Finally, after six years of waiting she found the file that had eluded her for so long. "The Dementatron." She moved the mouse cruiser to click on the file when the computer had malfunctioned and killed her battery. The laptop died and the screen went black.

"NO! I was so close!" Gosalyn had never been a nature buff, always preferring the modern technology and living with internet and always having a strong phone signal was her idea of good living but, here in the middle of nowhere she had none of that. Two months of being stuck here and it was driving her up the wall. That was when she made a decision. Orders or no orders, she had the proof they needed to take down the operation and bring the bad guy into custody so, why not act now while the chances were good and get home faster? Getting her spy gear ready she put her plan into motion.

The next day the crime lord of the south was thrown in front of the Chief agent's desk, all tied up and gagged. Gosalyn entered the room with her head held high. "There you go Hooter, one illegal poacher slash smuggler of rare species ordered fresh and ready to put on trial." Hooter tried to calm himself. It wasn't easy running this job when he was pushing seventy and with Agent Mallard acting on her own half the time it was a wonder how he managed at all. "Your orders were to wait for reinforcements. It was too dangerous for a solo agent mission. You were only ment to collect proof." Gosalyn glared at Hooter and placed a hand over her heart. "Like my father, I'm never afraid to get dangerous and I'll do whatever I can to make him proud. Whether he's around to see it or not. Now, I'll be taking some vacation time since I've been away for so long. Unless you get word about my dad I'll be back in a week." With that the spirited woman headed out the door. Hooter fell back into his chair and wiped his brow with a cooling cloth. "She's more like her father then she realizes."

When Gosalyn got home the house was empty. Honker must not have gotten off work yet. Gosalyn went over to the twin easy-chairs and placed a hand on the arm. She did this every time she came back to see if they had been used. They were cold like always, they hadn't been used. For the first two years after his disappearance she'd often spend days watching the chairs expecting to see them starting to spin and her father return tired and worn out from fighting another villain. After Launchpad moved out Honker took over his room and Gosalyn remained in hers. Her father's bedroom was never touched. It was Gosalyn's last link to him other than Darkwing Tower. She refused to change anything of his. It was her last hope that he would return. Changing it now would only mean that she accepted that he was dead and she'd refuse to acknowledge that possibility.

An hour later Honker returned home to see Gosalyn sleeping on the couch with the TV on. Assuming she hadn't eaten yet he decided to make dinner. Before long the scent of chicken filled the air waking the duck from her slumber. She entered the kitchen yawning. "Hey Honk, when'd you get home?" The Muddlefoot smiled at her as he took the chicken out of the oven. "Long enough to cook this for us. When did you get back?"

"A few hours ago. I completed my mission early." she replied. Honker smiled. "Any new leads?" Gosalyn suddenly remembered the file name. "Actually yes... I think, later on I need you to get into the system and look for a file titled The Dementatron. It looked promising but, my computer died before I could see what it was about." Honker nodded. "Sure, I can look into it no problem."


	3. Chapter Three: Useless Computers

Chapter 3

_"Buurrrp!"_

Gosalyn wasn't fast enough to cover her mouth after she had finished her meal. After taking the dishes she started washing them while Honker started filing some school papers he had brought home to grade.

"So, what was the Amazon like?" He asked after marking a seventy nine percent on one paper.

"It sucked to be honest." Gosalyn replied. "The bugs were irritating, there was hardly any signal, my computer fried on me thanks to the stupid heat and worst of all, the guy I was after wasn't even hard to take down. Honestly, I don't know why Hooter was so worried about him. Megavolt was a lot tougher then that coward."

Honker shook his head as he wrote an eighty three percent on another paper.

"Gosh, sorry I asked."

Gosalyn looked up from the sink as she remembered some of the perks of the amazon. "There were a few things that were nice about it. I got to see some jaguar cubs and a huge waterfall with a double rainbow."

"Sounds like it was worth the trip." Honker replied now grading the last few papers. "Yeah but, it's still wasn't the ultimate prize." She replied sadly.

Honker knew he had to act fast to stop her from falling into another depression spell.

"I ran into Stegmutt yesterday. He says hi."

Gosalyn smiled remembering the friendly yet, clumsy dinosaur. "How is he doing?" She asked.

"Pretty good from what I saw. He works in the museum as a guide."

Gosalyn nodded. "That's good to hear."

Once Honker had finished grading the papers and Gosalyn finished the dishes they opened up Honker's laptop. With Gosalyn's help they got into SHUSH's top secret files. But, just like with Gosalyn's computer the moment Honker clicked on the Class A files his computer froze up and shut down.

"I don't get it, if it wasn't the heat that killed my computer then why did it shut down?"

Gosalyn asked getting suspicious about the files that were in the top secret folder.

"Maybe it's a firewall; I mean, we are using an outside computer that's not used to the system." Honker pointed out.

"True but, if it was a firewall shouldn't it have asked for a password or something?" Gosalyn replied.

"Maybe they can only be accessed from a base computer insude SHUSH itself?"

Honker was really good with computers but, with limited access there wasn't much he could do. Gosalyn glared at the dead screen.

"They're hiding something and I don't like it." She huffed in annoyance and walked away from the table.

"Where are you going?" Honker asked as she headed for the living room.

"I'm going to use the one outside computer they can't shut down."

Sitting on one of the easy chairs she punched the basil statue and the chairs spun to life kicking up a dust cloud as she headed to Darkwing Tower.

* * *

Brewster Beak was not having a good time. Ever since his outburst he had been grounded from everything except the basic essentials. No TV, no computer, no video games, no phone, no friends. Just school, food water and bed. He even had junk food privalges taken away. As far as Brewster was consered He didn't do anything wrong, his father just couldn't handle the truth. The little rooster may have been born with the personality of a jerk but, he wasn't a villain and didn't have any plans on becoming one. At least if he could avoid it. There was a knock at his door as his mother came into his room.

"Brewster sweetie, I'd like to talk to you."

"If it's about what I said to Dad, I'm not sorry." The hot-headed rooster replied.

"I think you're being too harsh Brewster. Just because your father is an agent for an evil empire it doesn't make him a bad person all the time. He only wants what's best for this family. I think your words hurt him more then he's letting you to believe."

Brewster folded his arms. "Good! Maybe he'll get a taste of what he did to other people he hurt."

Amonia shook her head. "Those were orders that he had to follow. I know, High Command was pretty harsh on me to. Even when I got arrested they never came to bail me out. It was your father that bailed me out last time and after paying my debt to society I cleaned up my act and left FOWL forever."

Brewster respected his mother more then his father, at least she tried to lead a normal life and live it right. He leaned close and hugged her.

"I'm sorry mom. I just want a good romodel to look up to."

Amonia hugged him back. "I know sweetie, I know. I'll talk to your father about that. In the meantime, your friend Jessica called. She wanted me to tell you that she's desided on the project you'll be writing on and she'll tell you at achool tomorrow."

With a gentle peck on the cheek Amonia tucked him in and turned off the light. Brewster tried staying up but, was soon fast asleep.

* * *

Gosalyn arrived at the tower coughing up dust. Gosalyn had been there maybe three times since her father's disappearance. Dusting off his supercomputer she brought it online.

"Awesome, this old thing still works! Now, time to get those files."

Going through the long process once again Gosalyn got to Class A files.

"Come on Dad, don't fail me now." She wished outloud trusting that his computer's hacking system wouldn't fail her.

As she clicked on the folder she held her breath. It took a moment and the folder opened. She sighed with relief as other file folders popped up. Most were secret plans and personal files of secret agents and other boring mission files but, the one she was looking for was near the bottom of the list. "The Dementatron" She clicked on the file and the details popped up.

_The Demetatron: A device that opens different portals to other dementions and realities. theorised to be the only way to connect to other realities such as the negaverse many however believe this project to be a garaunteed failure and a waste of money due to it's less then promising beta tests. The device itself was believed to be destroyed upon emplosion along with two unfortunate victims: Public Menace Negaduck and Vigilante crimefighter Darkwing Duck. _

Gosalyn scrolled down for more information but, the file was blank. She slammed her fists on the desk.

"I already knew all that!" She shouted in frustraition.

Was this really all they knew about the deivce? If they believe the device was destroyed did that mean that her father was truely gone forever? She clentched her shaking fist trrying not to let the fear and greif overcome her. With a heavy sigh she shut down the old computer and with one more glance around the room she headed back for the house. Once back in the living room Honker could tell she didn't get the results she wanted.

"Your dad's computer couldn't get past the firewall either I take it."

The defeated duck shook her head. "No, Dad's computer was flawless. I got in but, the only information the file had said that they believe the machine was destroyed and anyone caught in the blast was killed."

Honker tried to comfort her. "What do they know? Except for Hooter and that Agent Blunt their a bunch of preschool novices. I bet I could build a new Demenatron if I had the blueprints."

Gosalyn slowly made her way upstairs. "Thanks Honker but, the new one wouldn't bring my father back."

Back in Darkwing Tower the computer's monitor had begun flashing red as a few files from the computer's mainframe began uploading to a file and were being sent to an e-mail account.

* * *

_***Whew* I apologize, I know the last two chapters were a bit small and some areas seemed rushed, at least to me they did. Hopefully this one's a little better. I just realized that the next chapter has to be re-written which I am dreading and will probably be delayed until I think it's ready. It should take too long though. 1-2 weeks tops. Not sure exactly since the holiday season is keeping me pretty busy. Christmas will be here before I know it and I've still got things to do before it gets here. **_

_**I also have other stories to update and tweak not to mention upload the chapters of stories I do have finished. I'm still not done uploading all of my stories yet. They'll pop up here on their own time. I appreciate the reviews this story has been getting so far one of them has helped improve one of the chapters and added a new twist to the story plot. **_


	4. Chapter Four: Losing Faith

Chapter 4

The next day Honker had been too distracted by Gosalyn's suffering to lecture the class like he had planned so, he had arranged for them to watch a video on historical artifacts and the secrets they conceal. He had always seemed to cheer her up before but, after what she found out last night nothing he did seemed to work. Luckily, his computer was only down for a short time and he was able to recover all the files that had been lost. He decided to do some research on detentions and looked for anything he could find about the Negaverse. The only luck he had with that realm was the article about reports sighting Negaduck entering and leaving a bakery near the edge of town. He was about to give up his search when he glanced over at the movie that was almost over.

_"So remember, even if an artifact looks boring and ordinary never overlook it. Studying it carefully over and over pays off when you find something you didn't notice before. It could be easy to miss and hiding in plain sight right under your nose."_

Honker blinked realizing that maybe the same thing had happened to Gosalyn. Perhaps she had been so focused on getting into the file that she missed some key detail, possibly even a message hidden in the file's report. He was determined later that day to find the answer hidden in the file. Once class ended Honker gathered his briefcase and papers and left earlier instead of staying behind for a bit like he normally did. Brewster saw him in the hall and tried to catch up to him.

"Mr. M, can I talk to you about my essay?"

Honker was in a hurry, but he knew that Brewster had been having trouble with his school work. This was probably a good chance to help him.

"What is it Brewster?" He asked.

"Jessica picked those prisms we saw as our project but, I just don't see how I can turn that into a good essay. The only thing I can think of to write for it is, _'White light shoots through a prism and is reflected into several colors.' _and that's all I got. How can I turn that one sentence into a five paragraph report?"

Honker stopped for a moment and wrote down something on a small piece of note paper. "Try going to this website. It has some good information about the different forms of light and the effects they have on the environment."

Brewster smiled as he accepted the paper. "Thanks Mr. M. That should really help."

When Honker got home he wasn't surprised to see a depressed Gosalyn sitting at the kitchen table. She seemed to be worse today then she was last night. She had her arms folded on the table and she had her head laying on them as she was staring at an empty glass. It was clear she had been crying.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked.

She didn't look up from the glass as she answered. "I was making some lunch but, then I noticed...I forgot the milk."

Honker tilted his head, not understanding what she was getting at. "There's milk in the fridge. I got some a few days ago. It should still be good."

She sighed. "How am I suppose to get over it and move on when every little thing reminds me of him?"

Honker finally understood what she was getting at. "I thought about what you found in that file all day and realized maybe you overlooked something."

Gosalyn finally looked up at him and glared at him with a serious gaze. "I didn't overlook anything, it said that the machine was destroyed and the explosion killed those that were too close."

"implosion." Honker corrected her.

"Whatever!" Gosalyn shouted at him while standing up. "All these years It's been nothing but a wild goose chase! There was never any hope of finding him and I was stupid to think there was a way of getting him back!"

She started to head upstairs when Honker grabbed her arm. Gosalyn turned to yell at him to let go when she noticed that for once he had an angry and determined look in his eyes.

"It wasn't stupid! You're not the only one who wants to find him. Everyone misses him. Launchpad, Stegmutt, Morgana, me and nameless others. Even some of the villains miss having him around or did you miss the news report a few months back? Megavolt, Bushroot, Quackerjack, they all gave up crime because it wasn't the same without Darkwing Duck showing up to foil their plans."

Gosalyn raised an eyebrow, she was having a hard time believing that report but, she let Honker continue.

"It's been hard on all of us but, we've never given up hope that he will come back and you shouldn't now, not after all these years of trying. Look at all you've done to get this far. And now that you're so close you're going to throw in the towel?"

Gosalyn smiled. Honker's smarts had always amazed her even as a kid. "You're right Honk. I can't give up hope now and I won't stop looking until he comes through that door. C'mon let's go back to the tower and read between the lines of that file."

The last file had finished uploading and the folder had been sent to the e-mail when the two arrived at the tower. The screen went dark as the computer powered down. When Honker sat down he started up the computer. "Hmm, that's odd. The computer's pretty warm, like it's been on all night."

Gosalyn leaned on the back of the chair. "I probably forgot to turn it off properly last night."

They got to the file and Honker read all that the file stated. Nothing had changed since last night and Honker couldn't find anything that they could go on.

"Well, there is one thing that's obvious." He pointed out.

"And what's that?" Gosalyn asked.

"Look at all the blank space under the report. Seems like a lot of space for such a small file."

The tomboy nodded. "You're right. you think someone deleted what was originally there and typed in that quick file?"

Honker nodded. "I wouldn't doubt it. The question is, was the original file deleted or transferred?"

Gosalyn looked over towards the city. "Looks like I've got some homework to do at SHUSH Central."

Honker sighed. "Just be careful. This is pretty dangerous stuff."

Gosalyn chuckled. "Oh please, as if getting dangerous has ever stopped me before."

Over in the manufacturing district part of the city a factory that once built engines for airplanes and rockets began stirring to life. The main computer came online and the mechanical arms began coming to life once more. There had been plenty of tools and material left behind when the factory closed down. The computer quickly put the machines to work building. The factory was back in business.

* * *

Two weeks later the museum report was due. Brewster and Jessica had worked hard and their's was one of the more entertaining reports to listen to when they read their essay out loud to the class. Mr. M was impressed with the effort that was put into their report and didn't think twice about giving them an A. He graded it a ninety seven percent and only took points off for spelling and grammar but, he was pleased that Brewster had done so well.

After he got home Honker went straight to Darkwing Tower. There was one thing he wanted to try to restore the replaced file.

"Control, alt, home." The trick failed and Honker let out a heavy sigh. He opened up his breif case and picked up the papers that he hadn't finished grading. He figured he might as well get something productive done today. That's when a very irritated Gosalyn arrived via the spinning chairs.

"I can't believe those stupid jerks!" She shouted. "Agh!"

Honker jumped and threw the papers in the air startled by her sudden appearance and outburst. His papers that had been neatly stacked and alphabetized scattered everywhere. One of the papers had landed on the scanner and was scanned into the computer's database.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack Gos." Honker stated once he was able to catch his breath.

"Sorry Honker. I'm just so mad. One of the higher up agents found out I was the one sneaking into their database and put me on unpaid leave until Hooter decides what my punishment should be. My luck it'll be paperwork duty and other stupid grunt work."

Honker sighed. "I told you to be careful."

The irritated duck started helping Honker pick up the scattered papers. "I was being careful, If they hadn't run a maintenance on the system then I never would have been caught."

Over at the factory the machines had been hard at work creating a small machine that resembled a rocket but, without thrusters to lift off with. As the beta test began the computer tried to pin point a specific location in St. Canard. Once it was locked onto it's target the device's small engine kicked in. It looked promising until the power levels spiked out of control and the device shorted out. The details of the test appeared on the monitor and the key problem became highlighted. The power source was unfocused and couldn't hold a constant charge as a result causing the short curcuit. The second monitor brought up SHUSH's most secure files and hacked into the system.

It pulled up a secure file titled '_Project Delta Burst'_. Inside were two folders. One titled failed tests and the other contained several blue prints. The Blue Print file was opened and the prints were copied and saved. Once the right blue print was scanned the mechanical arms began taking the failed device apart as it started rebuilding it to the blue prints accurate details.

* * *

_**Oh I really don't like my new schedule. My head's so full of stuff to remember and my days are so full of things that need to be done I feel my sanity's about to break. Writing this is my only therapy, but I'm so exhausted by the end of the day I can barely think let alone update this story. I wish I had a good pillow to scream into. Thanks for hangin' in there guys. Your reviews really help put my mind at ease. **_

_**Chapter five is coming soon and with any luck it'll be longer then these past few chapters have been. These chapters have been setting me off to be honest, they seem long when I'm writing them, but after I upload them here and see how short they look it makes me want to head-desk. u_u;**_


	5. Chapter Five: Rebels

Chapter 5

"A ninety seven?! I'm so proud of you Brewster! See what you can do when you put your mind to it?"

"Leggo a me! I can't breathe Mom!"

Brewster had ben trying to get out of the bear hug his mother had trapped him in. As she let go she waved the paper in front of Steelbeak's metallic namesake. "See honey? It looks like he got my smarts afterall."

Steelbeak took the paper and scanned over it. "What kind of report is this?"

Brewster looked on a little worried. "It's about the light spectrum and the different effects it has when split into several colors through a prisim." Steelbeak wasn't impressed.

"You would've made me proud if you had done some research on sometin' like explosives. D'is is sissy, girly stuff." Steelbeak let the paper fall from his hand and fall to the floor.

"But Dad, I got an A on it. Mr. M. thought it was really well written. He said my only mistakes were a few spelling errors." Brewster stated, sounding hurt.

Steelbeak was less then impressed. "These teachers today don't know anything about proper knowledge! If you want to impress me Then you gotta learn how to do t'ings the FOWL way. You're mother may not be in it anymore but, I still am and I t'ink it's time you start learning how to follow in your daddy's footsteps if you wanna make me proud."

Brewster grabbed the paper and ran upstairs stopping half way up the staircase when he called back down. "What if I don't want to be evil!" His bedroom door slammed as he buried his head into his pillow.

* * *

Gosalyn needed a break from looking at the same report for clues over and over. No matter how many times she read it nothing jumped out at her. Getting curious she started searching some of the other files on the computer. She found a report that caught her interest.

"Hey Honker, have you ever heard of light traveling through dimensions?"

Honker got up and looked at the screen. "What did you find?"

Gosalyn pointed to the screen. "I found an article talking about light and how it splits into different dimensions to form the colors of the rainbow."

Honker looked up at the head of the article. "Where have I seen this before?"

Gosalyn read the author's name. "Brewster Beak. Hmm, seems like a pretty smart cookie."

Honker scratched his head. "Brewster? He's a student in my class. This was his report from the trip we took to the museum. It was nicely written."

Gosalyn smiled. "Well maybe your student can help us. With this report I can present it to SHUSH and maybe they can use it to fix the dementatron and even recover what was lost."

Honker raised an eye brow. "How do you figure that?"

She pointed to the screen. "It says here that light can be split into several dimensional colors and then reverted back into one light by using another prism. Maybe they can use that information to fix whatever problem the Dementatron had."

Honker smiled. "It's definitely something to go on. There's just one problem." Gosalyn looked down at Honker. "And what's that?" The mallard adjusted his glasses. "You're on unpaid leave."

"Don't remind me." Gosalyn said sagging her shoulders.

* * *

The next day Gosalyn tried keep her sour attitude in check. It wasn't easy with some of the security guards at the front watching her like a hawk. She figured they had been given orders to after her little hacking incident. She got to her office a little relieved to know she still had an office. Just as she was seated comfortably at her desk Agent Harris walked in.

"About time you showed up for work Mallard." The falcon declared in a greeting.

Gosalyn glared at him. "Hey Harris there's this new custom called knocking, maybe you should try it sometime."

"I'm not in the mood for your immature tantrums today." The older agent cut her off. Gosalyn folded her arms. "Alright then agent grumpy pants why come into my office? Your printer run out of ink again?"

Now it was Harris's turn to glare at her. "On the contrary; I've been assigned to be your partner."

Gosalyn couldn't believe her ears. "I know your jokes suck but, please tell me you're pulling my leg." The falcon shook his head. "For once I feel the same as you. I have more important things to do then babysit a child."

Just as Gosalyn was about to give the falcon the famous double web kick her office phone rang. She reluctantly answered it. "Agent Mallard...yes he is...we'll be right there."

As she hung up Harris headed for the door. "No doubt Hooter will take me off my current mission and put me on whatever case you're having trouble with."

Once inside Hooter's office Gosalyn tried to tell him about what she had found out. "Sir, I know the Demenatron was written off as a failure but, I think I found a way to make it work-"

"Agent Mallard please!" Hooter cut her off. "It's been twenty years. It's been too long. Whatever chance that the victims did have of surviving is long gone. It was Negaduck's own undoing to use a device that was flawed from the start. Darkwing knew the risks and it was his own choice to get too close. I am sorry but, the case in his disappearance has been closed and won't be re-opened. That is my final say."

Gosalyn dropped the file she had been holding which contained a copy of the essay. Tears started to fill her eyes.

"You assumed he was dead from the start! You never had any expectations of finding him. You kept me going on all these lame missions to keep me from finding out the ugly truth! After all he's done for you, this is how you repay him by writing him off as a casualty?!"

She clenched her fists tightly. "You may have given up but, I never will! I **will **find him and when I do I'll come back only to say I told you so in your face!"

With that she stormed out of the office. "Wait! Agent Mallard come back!" Hooter tried to call to her but, she was already down the hall and out of ear shot.

"She took that well." Harris commented flatly.

"If only she'd let me finish a sentence." Hooter looked over at the greying falcon. "I'm assigning her to your case. Please, I know you don't see eye to eye but, keep her out of trouble."

The falcon picked up the file she had dropped. "Yes sir."

It hadn't been easy but, Agent Harris had managed to convince Gosalyn to unlock her office door and let him in. "I'm not in the mood for your lectures." She said as she tried to stop him from entering.

"I only wanted to return your paperwork." He said as he held out the office folder.

"Oh, thanks." She replied with a defeated tone.

As she went to close the door he smirked. "You know, that's a pretty interesting theory. Using the different light dimensions to create a portal."

Gosalyn grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him down to her eye level. "You better forget you read it or Steelbeak won't be the only bird with an iron beak!"

Harris held up his hands in submission. "It wasn't meant as an insult. I really mean what I said."

With an angry huff she roughly let go of him and turned to sit back down at her desk. Harris seized the oppertunity to enter and place another folder on her desk. "Hooter assigned you to my case."

Gosalyn rolled her eyes. "I'm not working on any new cases. If SHUSH has given up on bringing Darkwing back then I don't belong here. I'll find my own way to bring him home even if it takes me the rest of my life."

Harris slammed his hands flat on her desk. "You know what your problem is? You never let anyone finish talking! You're not the only one who's been hacking the system lately."

"Whoop-te-do. Just hit them with a maintenance system. It'll stop 'em cold." Gosalyn replied coldy.

Harris placed a hand over his eyes in frustration. "Whoever it was they were looking at the same files you were."

Gosalyn folded her arms in thought. "It was probably also me. I had to use several computers thanks to the special fire wall that crashed my computer."

"We don't have a fire wall that can do that. The ones in place around our secure files merely ask for a password and if the user fails to enter a correct code the security agents are notified." Harris replied, choosing to ignore how comfortable Agent Mallard seemed to be hacking into their most secure files.

This made Gosalyn worry. "If that wasn't a SHUSH fire wall I ran into then what was it and who set it up?" Harris flipped open her laptop. "Hey! What are you-"

"I'm trying to see if there's still a trace of whatever caused your computer to crash." The falcon cut her off pulling up her computer's control panel.

"Well, you could ask first." She said, folding her arms with a sour attitude.

It took a few minutes but, Harris was able to find what he was looking for. "Every time I hover your mouse over this icon a message pops up warning me not to click. It's not a fire wall, it's a virus. Now that I know that I'll see if I can trace it's source."

As Harris went to work Gosalyn couldn't help but think about her father and how he would probably have done something very similar. She had to shake her head once to clear her head when she thought she saw Darkwing sitting there instead of Agent Harris.

A few minutes later Harris hit the enter key and sat back. "Well I'll be a monkey's uncle."

"What did you find?" Gosalyn asked.

Harris pointed to the screen. "This address is under investigation on the case I'm working on."

"Keen Gear." She said in surprised awe.

"You can say that again." Harris replied. "I planned on staking out the address tomorrow night. You're welcome to join me if you're feeling up to it." The falcon said as he got up to leave.

"Yeah, I'd like to tag along." She replied.

"Good. Then I'll see you after I get off shift tomorrow." Harris said as he walked out her office door.

Gosalyn turned to look out of her window. She was trying not to get her hopes up but, this was the best lead she had gotten in years. She hoped it wouldn't turn out to be another dead end.

* * *

Brewster was tired of being trapped in the vicious cycle. Every time he made one parent proud the other would be angry and ground him for not doing something right or wrong. He sat on his bed looking at an old comic book. As he read through the pages he wished more and more that his dad was like Super Pig who always did the right thing and cared for others instead of himself. Steelbeak's number one priority was putting himself first and everyone else last.

One chapter made Brewster wonder; Super Pig was telling everyone around him to run while he tried to disable a bomb. Why couldn't his dad be like that? Willing to sacrifice himself to protect the people around him? Instead he knew his father would be the first to flee. Letting out a deep sigh, Brewster laid back on his bed with his feet still dangling off the edge. He was tired of being punished for doing the right thing and rewarded for doing something wrong. He couldn't keep living like this. He knew he'd end up just like his dad one day whether he liked it or not.

As he heard his father's shower start he made up his mind. Grabbing his backpack he grabbed a few change of cloths, a few of his favorite comic books, a flashlight and a few others things that he thought would come in handy. Taking his bed sheets he tied them together like how he saw in the movies and threw the rope out of the window. Grabbing a pen he quickly wrote a goodbye note to his mom apologizing. It wasn't her fault he was leaving and he wanted her to know that. After signing his name he stuck the note to his pillow with a stapler and started descending the sheet rope.

* * *

The next day Honker had arrived at school a little late. Gosalyn had kept him up trying to look for the virus in his computer only to find out that it had been removed by his virus protection program. He sat in his classroom trying to wake up. The kids started arriving as he turned on the projector.

"Take five minutes to solve the morning problem for some extra credit points. Time's up when the first bell rings." Honker continued sorting the papers on his desk and putting them in their correct folder in the file cabinet in his desk.

When the first bell rang the students that finished trying to solve the problem passed their answers up to the front of each row. Honker took another sip of coffee as he got up to the front of the class for roll call.

"Alice?"

"Here!"

"Bradley?"

"Here."

"Jessica?"

"Here!"

"Brewster?... Brewster?" Honker looked at the empty seat then at Jessica. "Have you seen him today?"

The young duckling shook her head. "No Sir. I haven't seen him all week. His dad grounded him last I heard."

Honker sighed. It wasn't hard to put two and two together on that one. While everyone else bought Steelbeak's cover story Honker could see right through it since he was the only person who knew Steelbeak's past.

"Thank you Jessica." Honker said as he continued with role call.

* * *

Amonia Pine went into her son's bedroom like she did everyday to collect the dirty laundry. She went through some of the drawers to check for any cloths with stains on them to re-wash when she noticed that some of the drawers had more room then normal. She hoped he wasn't stuffing cloths into the closet again. As she went to collect the pajamas that were laying on the bed she noticed the note on the pillow.

_"Dear Mom,_

_I'm sorry but I can't stay here anymore. I'm tired of Dad trying to force me to be something I'm not. I don't want to be a villain because that would mean hurting my friends one day. I don't want to grow up having to constantly watch my back and running from the cops. You are my parents and I'll love you no matter what but, I'll never be the son that he wants me to be and it's best if I get away now before Dad or myself gets pushed too far. I'll send you a letter when I get the chance. _

_I love you,_

_Brewster Beak."_

Amonia's eyes grew wide with shock as she ran to look out the window. The sheet rope he had made the previous night was gently swaying in the breeze. She forgot the basket of dirty cloths and ran for the hallway.

"STEELBEAK!"

* * *

**_Whoo-wee! Finally a decent sized chapter worthy for you readers. I can't believe I actually had some spare time to kill today. Add that with a glass of Mtn. Dew and a strike of inspiration and I've got something to feel proud of, well...I wouldn't go that far, more like...feeling like I've gotten something accomplished. I owe that to you readers, you've really help get my inspiration going. _**

**_In truth, I have nine chapters of this story written out, however...it's been over a year since I started it and after re-reading it I realized that the later chapters are in need of some major fixing, I believe I mentioned that in a previous Author's Note. What I'm trying to say is, you guys are making it easier to go back and fix the mistakes and ultimately make the story better. For that I thank you. Hope you enjoyed Chapter 5, Chapter 6 will most likely come after the holidays...unless I get struck with inspiration again. ;)_ **


End file.
